When watching our subs, (and the subs of some other groups) viewers are expected to have a cursory knowledge of some aspects of Japanese culture. Typically, watching a couple seasons of anime or reviewing information you can find online will give a person the background they need to enjoy our subs without wondering “What the heck is an ‘Onii-chan’.” However, for those of you new to anime, or who have in the past watched shows with more localized scripts, we provide below a list of the more common terms that will be found in our subs, and their meaning. Please note that some items may not be included on this list (for example, brother and sister are, but mother and father are not). This is because for whatever reason or another, we do not typically use those words in our scripts.
Titles of address (used with a suffix, found further below):
Onii – Brother; sometimes shortened to “Nii”; also used by young children addressing an older male.
Onee – Sister; sometimes shortened to “Nee”; also used by young children addressing an older female.
Sensei – Teacher, or occasionally doctor.
Senpai – Upperclassman; the converse of this is Kouhei, but we do not typically use Kouhei.
Oba – Grandmother; alternatively used as a title for a much older woman.
Oji – Grandfather; alternatively used as a title for a much older man.
Title-suffixes (these are usually added to both names and titles):
-san – the most common suffix; this is used when speaking to someone for which an alternate suffix is not appropriate
-kun – this suffix is used when the speaker is familar with the male being addressed. When the reletive status of both parties is equal, or the speaker is of a lower status, use of this suffix indicates a greater level of familiarity.
-chan – this suffix is used when the speaker is familar with the female being addressed. When the reletive status of both parties is equal, or the speaker is of a lower status, use of this suffix indicates a greater level of familiarity.
-sensei – used as a suffix when addressing a teacher or doctor by name.
-senpai – used as a suffix when addressing an upperclassman by name.
There can be exceptions to the use of suffixes in informal speech. Typically, the further the usage differs from the standard, the greater the level of familiarity (for example, males who have been best friends their entire lives may use the -chan suffix with each other). An atypically used suffix may also be construed as a form of (usually friendly) harassment or other special circumstances.
Words used in character (These are words and acronyms which appear as spoken dialog and which would be understood in Japan, but due to cultural differences are not prevelent in the US or other English-speaking countries. We have chosen to at times maintain these words verbatim instead of localizing them):
NEET – a person who is not employed nor actively participating in education or training programs.
Moe – This is an attribute similar to the English “cute” “adorable” or “girlishly feminine” It is a difficult word to describe, thus it is easiest to simply leave it as is. The less used male counterpart to this is “Gar”.
Please note that this list was complied by an editor who claims no mastery of the Japanese language, therefore there may be some minor mistakes or exceptions which are not covered. If you have questions concerning other oft used Japanese words which are not covered above, feel free t0 leave a comment and it will be routinely answered for as long as this post remains stickied (approximately 2 weeks at the beginning of each season).
Suggestions will be also be considered for inclusion into the list.
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